Deck 3: Changes and Challenges in the Global Labor Market

Question 1

Which of the following is not a major consequence of globalization?

A)Consumers can purchase lower-priced goods and services
B)Increases incomes
C)Creates new jobs
D)Decreases purchase power

Answer 1

Decreases purchase power

Question 2

Which of the following is a common argument by critics of globalization?

A)Globalization has destroyed jobs in developing countries
B)Companies have moved to countries with little labor and environmental regulations
C)Globalization has increased manufacturing jobs in the United States
D)Globalization has caused increasing problems with labor unions

Answer 2

Companies have moved to countries with little labor and environmental regulations

Question 3

Current UN population estimates predict that the world's population will increase to what by 2050?

A)8.1 billion people
B)9.2 billion people
C)7.7 billion people
D)10.3 billion people

Answer 3

8.1 billion people

Question 4

According to a study commissioned by the EIU and Western Union, which of these countries turns out to be in the greatest need of immigrants?

A)U.S.
B)Germany
C)France
D)Japan

Question 5

Which of the following is not an argument for immigrant workers?

A)Immigrant workers are usually cheaper to employ than native workers in developed countries and employers often prefer to hire them to remain cost competitive.
B)Immigrants are willing to do jobs that natives spurn.
C)Immigrants are helping lowering the crime rates.
D)A vibrant immigrant economy may help revive a stagnant local economy.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT an argument against immigrant workers?

A)They could become a source of social unrest and ethnic strife.
B)Immigration leads to massive overcrowding and traffic congestion.
C)Immigration may create enclave community segregated from the rest of the society.
D)Economic contribution of immigrants is usually marginal since they don't usually work hard enough to make a living in a newly adopted country.

Question 7

The condition often referred to as the "brain drain" means:

A)Globalization decreases creativity as companies outsource their R&D tasks.
B)Skilled workers in developing countries are less in demand.
C)The more that developed countries attract skilled migrants, the more they are stripping developing countries of the people they need most to achieve economic development.
D)Creative destruction

Question 8

A new phenomenon that involves people who move back and forth between their country of origin and the adopted country to take advantage of career opportunities in both countries is called:

A)Brain gain
B)Brain drain
C)Brain circulation
D)Brain recycle

Question 9

A contingent workforce means:

A)Workers who work for a contingency fee
B)Workers whose jobs are dependent or contingent upon present work demand
C)Workers who are in the country temporarily
D)Immigrant workers

Question 10

The most rapid growth of the contingent workforce has been in the following areas:

A)Manufacturing workers
B)Professional, technical, and managerial workers
C)Telecommunications workers
D)Medical field

Question 11

The best strategy for managing a workforce in response to changes in demand is to:

A)Maintain a lean workforce of core employees and have a body of contingent workers who could be more readily cut back as the need arises.
B)Maintain a workforce of solely contingent employees so that you can hire more if demand rises.
C)Maintain a strong workforce of core employees and hire contingent workers as needed.
D)Maintain short employment contracts and rehire each employee as needed year to year.

Question 12

Which of the following is a common solution to hiring challenges?

A)Hire all employees at will.
B)Make each manager responsible for employment processes.
C)Contract your hiring processes out to a management firm, i.e., virtual company.
D)Hire permanent employees to manage the employment process.

Question 13

Dot Company is a technological Company that specializes in manufacturing computer software for music. Recently, Dot Company's D-Tunes music program has become outdated as target customers have switched from downloading mp3s to a new type of file, mp6s. Dot Company is concerned about having the necessary funding and talent to create a new program for the mp6 songs. What should they do?

A)Hire permanent employees to create the new program.
B)Train the current employees on how to create such a program.
C)Buy the program from another company.
D)Hire independent contractors to create the program.

Question 14

Many governments have relaxed job protection rules, which resulted in:

A)Lower wages
B)Decreased loyalty
C)Less benefits
D)Loss of job efficiency

Question 15

Which of the following has caused employers to create more flexible work arrangements?

A)Increase in working mothers
B)Lower wages
C)High immigrant population
D)Increase in foreign languages

Question 16

Which of the following contributes to an increased number of contingent workers?

A)Population Aging
B)High Inflation
C)Decrease in manufacturing jobs
D)Increase in manufacturing jobs

Question 17

What is the number one reason for outsourcing?

A)Less regulations
B)Lower costs
C)Increased demand
D)Freedom of Information

Question 18

The increasing recognition that not all value-added functions are amenable to offshore sourcing made companies like Caterpillar and GE bring some of their manufacturing operations back to the home country. This trend is called:

A)Reverse shoring
B)Inshoring
C)Onshoring
D)Outshoring

Question 19

Outsourcing has caused which of the following:

A)Inflation
B)More static labor market
C)Higher costs
D)Increased global competitiveness

Question 20

Why could outsourcing not be a long run solution?

A)Decreasing dependence on independent suppliers in turn tends to lose sight of emerging technologies and thereby design and manufacturing abilities.
B)Increasing dependence on independent suppliers in turn tends to lose sight of emerging technologies and thereby design and manufacturing abilities.
C)Decreasing dependence on independent suppliers in turn tends to decrease jobs.
D)Increasing dependence on independent suppliers in turn tends to create long run higher costs.

Question 21

What is the biggest challenge that managers face when trying to collect personnel data?

A)Some data is unavailable.
B)Mangers don't have the time or money to complete the process.
C)Many countries have extended their privacy laws to prevent trans-border personnel data flows.
D)Workers don't want their information shared.

Question 22

When managers devise appropriate compensation and benefits schemes for their workers they are addressing which challenge?

A)Labor Unions
B)Equity and Fairness
C)Cultural Differences
D)Integration

Question 23

There is growing recognition that a positive relationship exists between ________ and effective teamwork and productivity.

A)Benefits
B)Collectivism
C)High Wages
D)Cross-cultural communications

Question 24

MNCs' active and socially responsible involvement in their home country's ________ formation is important, ultimately because government policies either reinforce or hinder the competitiveness of a country's firms and economy.

A)Immigration and other labor policy
B)Labor Law
C)Economic
D)Poly-chronic

Question 25

Nobel Prize winner Gary Backer argues that ______ is the most important source of competitive advantage in the global economy?

A)Low cost
B)High quality
C)Technology
D)Human capital

Question 26

Changes in global labor force demographics and the influence of immigration is adding increasing diversity to our global workforces.

Question 27

Globalization has increased purchasing power and enhanced standards of living but with great risk of higher inflation.

Question 28

Globalization has enabled nations to specialize in industries where they have comparative advantages based on the favorable mix of skills and resources unique to their countries.

Question 29

Currently, there is a decreasing emphasis on growth with equity, as many recent studies have found that the benefits of economic growth to the poor are highly dependent on the existing level of inequality and wealth distribution within nations.

Question 30

Creative destruction is the continuous scrapping of new technologies in favor of old ones.

Question 31

The continued ability of U.S. companies to achieve productivity gains has outweighed the loss of jobs to overseas workers, resulting in a slower than expected job growth in the United States.

Question 32

Many of the changes toward greater diversity have been due to changes in migration patterns with increased transportation opportunities and more open national borders to support world trade and replace decreases in local populations.

Question 33

Offshore outsourcing is the primary reason for job loss around the world, as well as for the failure to quickly return to previous employment levels with an economic rebound.

Question 34

As the populations of industrialized nations are getting older, the transfer to elderly dependence from child dependence will be more pronounced.

Question 35

A solution to this dramatic demographic change of decreasing national population in developed countries is to have more migration between developed and developing countries.

Question 36

As culture is the foundation of any polity, political consensus will increasingly fragment as more people from different cultural backgrounds live within the same political jurisdiction.

Question 37

Immigrant workers are usually cheaper to employ than native workers in developed countries but employers often do not prefer to hire them to remain cost competitive.

Question 38

Immigrants are also increasing the tax income base for the government to help cover the staggering financial claims of the growing number of retired people in developed countries.

Question 39

Immigrants only replace natives in high-end jobs.

Question 40

In the United States, security rather than economic issues are forming an anti-immigrant national consciousness.

Question 41

Anti-immigration sentiment is even more conspicuous in Europe than in the United States.

Question 42

Most immigrants to the United States have clustered in ten states where 30 percent of the population resides.

Question 43

According to UN estimates, by 2025 the urban population is expected to exceed the rural population by 1.3 billion people.

Question 44

Some observers predict that the temporary workforce will grow faster than the permanent one for years to come.

Question 45

Offshore outsourcing has become increasingly popular among MNCs since it allows them to produce goods at lower costs in developing countries.

Question 46

Almost all international immigrations involve moving from poor to rich countries.

Question 47

China is the world's most attractive country for immigrants.

Question 48

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the share of immigrants in the U.S. labor force is expected to decrease through 2030.

Question 49

One of the main advantages of offshore outsourcing is strategic flexibility that enables an MNC to maximize the specialized competence of individual operations.

Question 50

Distinct cross-cultural risk factors can have a critical impact on the success of an offshore outsourcing relationship.

Question 51

Describe five different changes and emerging trends in the global labor market. For each trend, briefly discuss challenges and opportunities that are presented to MNCs for global business success.

Question 52

Describe major changes and emerging trends in the demographics of international labor markets. How are these changes influenced by migration trends?

Question 53

Describe current trends in international migration. Briefly discuss arguments for and against the presence and use of immigrant workers.

Question 54

What are contingent employees? How is the growth of their use influencing workforce practices on a global scale?

Question 55

Discuss the pros and cons of offshore sourcing? How has the recent global credit crisis affected the trend in offshore sourcing?